USD, Leading Conference Race, Faces Loyola

When Loyola Marymount’s Keith Smith hit a turnaround 20-foot jumper at the buzzer in the USD Sports Center last February, he turned around the University of San Diego’s basketball season.

The shot gave Loyola a 72-70 victory and sent the Toreros skidding out of playoff contention. They lost three of four games to Loyola and Pepperdine, the conference leaders.

Tonight, USD plays Loyola Marymount at 7:30 in the Sports Center. The Toreros play host to Pepperdine Saturday. USD travels to Pepperdine and Loyola next weekend.

“Last year, this stretch of games is where our season stood still,” USD guard Paul Leonard said.

This season, USD is 5-1 in the West Coast Athletic Conference (14-4 overall) and leads Gonzaga by a half game. Loyola is 2-3 in conference.

“They were dangerous a year ago because (Keith) Smith and (Forrest) McKenzie (Loyola’s two guards last season) could hurt you,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “Now, you have to concentrate on everybody.”

Rebounding figures to be one of Egan’s concerns.

When Loyola beat USD in San Diego last season (Loyola also won, 67-59, in Los Angeles), the Toreros were outrebounded, 32-30, even though the Lions didn’t have anyone taller than 6-8 up front.

“We certainly can’t let that happen again,” Scott Thompson, USD’s 7-foot center, said.

The Toreros also remember Loyola forward Mike Yoest very well. Yoest, who was unheard of last season, scored 40 points in the two games against USD and made 24 of 26 free throws. Yoest is now considered one of the conference’s top players.

“Everyone else is finding out what we found out first about him,” Egan said. “He’s a good player and we’ll have to concentrate on him.”